May 2014
Uncentered: Koga
Next work in the series ‘Uncentered’ we’re working on.
This one shows Arjen’s old bike. He made a special edition repro for his dads 65th birthday titled: ‘the first day of the rest of you life’ picturing one of his biggest passions: cycling.
Arjen can’t wait to shoot his dads old bike: a marvelous blue vintage Gios Torino…
If you haven’t seen the first Uncentered click this: ‘studio’

June 2014
A view to varnish
Arjen shoots, I varnish and write.
This is my table for either writing or a huge varnish job like this. Still I’m about 200 plates behind… And I wonder if I’ll ever catch up. The brown paper that protects the surface of my table is covered with words and scribbles from my hand. Stained with lavenderoil and resin.
Through the window I see a tree with a Spotted Woodpecker couple, the other tree is the buffet for a Short-toed Treecreeper, walking round and round every branch. In between the trees a Hedgehog likes the kind of buffet that walks by itself: snales and slugs. Before I can think of the next neighbour to write about, my plate catches fire and a blue flame boils and blisters the sanderac and what could have been a good varnishing job is now ruined or at least another attempt is needed.
I keep saying to myself that I’ll finish this job before the Hollyhocks next to the lantarn will bloom…

baspronk.com
Another festival with demonstrations, along with all different kinds of arts & crafts. Shooting plates in an area that we now know is probably going to close: the VanGendthallen next to Roest Amsterdam. We hope the new owners will keep the light from the roofglass. It’s lovely. As you can see.www.amsterdamroest.nl

This particular plate makes me stare. Like the stare and gaze I get when I see a tintype from the old days. A tiny story locked inside. Who? Why? Where? When? For how long?
In this case I can help you out: http://www.lamolina.nl/ at Open Domein 2014, Weesp, NL, for about 40 seconds.

Why? Because we love this! Shooting plates of beautiful objects, initiatives, or in this case, a Ferris Wheel restaurant.
A plate like this is a timelapse captured. A still movie. Not a frozen still, but the sum of moments. I know this might sound cheesy or like a cliché, but somewhere I hope, within a few decades, or a century maybe, somebody would have a look at this plate and will ask himself these same questions.

May 2014
A rainy day, foggy when the sun finally broke through. Rain and old gear are not best friends, but it seems that rain and Wet Plate are completely fine with each other.
Accompanied by the sound of forging metal and sizzling water from the blacksmith next to our spot, we sort of we bumped into a bearded sitter (whose plate melted under varnish last year), two ladies selling old fashioned candy, a family taking a break, and as always we bumped into some great ‘silent’ stills…

Emrys, is a wonderful ‘sitter’. I guess he’s used to it, but he still manages to not overpose, or get bored. This is one of the of 20 plates that he posed for that day. He held track of it and aimed for a (new) world record!

May 2014
European Collodion Weekend 2014
Again it is time for us all wet plate nerds to gather around the fire (lit with collodion of course) to have a good in depth conversation about our chemistry, our mistakes and successes. Of course in relationships like these, there is a moment for booze, for frustration and relief (always when the group picture is done). A hello, a hug, a kiss and goodbye again. Until we meet again folks! Thanks!

April 2014
Caffè Sotto: the maker
This is Mike, the brains and designer behind this lovely machine. Not only is this machine a joy to look at, but it makes a perfect ritual and a very nice and subtle coffee at the table, if you like. It’s produced in our own little country (Netherlands), but inspired by the social aspect of the Italian coffee culture.
Thanks Jeroen (www.coffeelab.nl) & Mike, for sharing this beautiful design with us, and Mike, for the privilege to shoot you a portrait.

About

Designers and imagemakers, Went& Navarro are experimenting with an old photographic process from around 1850. It’s a real hands-on process called Wet Plate Collodion. It was not intended as so, but this seems to create the perfect balance between their (mostly) digital work and their designer fascination for the tactile. What started as a bit of an awkward hobby, now becomes a ongoing project that encourages them to explore the overlap between image and object. Find them on Facebook.

Of course making Tintypes and Ambrotypes is not all they do, so for other work you can check out www.wentennavarro.nl